Awards Buzz Titles To Cross The Pond For 58th London Film Festival

BAFTA and London-based Academy members will have no shortage of likely awards season contenders to see at the BFI London Film Festival next month. The lineup was unveiled today with 245 fiction and documentary features, including 16 World Premieres. As previously announced, The Imitation Game, which just screened in Telluride, will open the fest in its European Premiere. The European Premiere of Fury with Brad Pitt will close the Festival. Headline Galas include Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher; Sundance hit Whiplash; Jason Reitman’s Men, Women & Children; Wild with Reese Witherspoon; Mike Leigh’s Cannes pleaser Mr Turner; and Testament Of Youth in its World Premiere and starring Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Hayley Atwell, Emily Watson and Dominic West. Also appearing are Jon Stewart’s Rosewater; Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos; Xavier Dolan’s Mommy; Damián Szifron’s Argentine smash Wild Tales; Kristian Levring’s western The Salvation; Chinese blockbuster The White Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom; Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep; Silent Storm with Andrea Riseborough and Damian Lewis; Susanne Bier’s long delayed Serena; and James Gandolfini’s last film, The Drop. Jeffrey Katzenberg will deliver the keynote speech as part of the festival’s salute to DreamWorks Animation’s 20th anniversary. The festival runs October 8-19. Following is the Competition lineup: